The relatively recent upsurge in the popularity of hang gliding as a leisure activity has brought into sharper focus the need for certain safety appliances. A major problem in low altitude flying is a loss of attitude wherein the hang glider, hereinafter sometimes referred to merely as a glider, rolls excessively. Such excessive roll results in a loss of lift, and, unless corrected within a very short time, may cause the glider to crash. The most common type of hang glider employs a rigidly attached triangular control bar with respect to which the pilot, himself suspended in a harness, shifts his weight to achieve the desired attitude. Thus roll control may be achieved by the pilot's shifting his weight transversely along the horizontal portion of the control bar to produce a moment about the roll axis. However, in a severely out of attitude glider, the horizontal portion of the control bar is at a sufficiently large angle from true horizontal that the pilot is required to provide a substantial vertical weight shift in order to right the glider. The relatively large correction required may be beyond the capability of a panic stricken novice flyer or even beyond that of a seasoned hang gliding enthusiast.
It is known to provide a hang glider pilot with a parachute to enable him to recover from various types of mishaps. Such parachutes are typically carried in a pack mounted to the chest of the pilot, and function in much the same way as conventional parachutes used for skydiving and the like. In those instances where the pilot assumes a supine position, suspended in a hammock-like harness, the parachute container may be sewn to the harness. Since the most common type of hang glider relies on structural members including a vertical tubular king post extending well above the wings, parachute deployment must not occur until the parachute has had a chance to clear the upper structural members. Thus while such parachutes would have utility in allowing a pilot to recover in case of structural failure at relatively high altitudes, they have little or no effectiveness in stabilizing an out of control glider at low altitude.
Although these dangers have been accepted as somewhat inevitable, as the sport of hang gliding attracts increasing numbers of people the need for a suitable attitude recovery device becomes more acute with each passing day. Such a device should be capable of extremely rapid activation with a minimum of action by the pilot.